Doctoral student Jonathan J. Stillo (City University of New York Graduate Center), with the guidance of Dr. Ida Susser, will undertake anthropological research on poverty during post-Socalist transitions. He will focus on the tuberculosis epidemic and the role of the TB sanatoria system in Romania. The presence of TB is known to be an indicator of socio-economic stress. With an incidence rate of 109 per 100,000, Romania is the site of one of Europe and Central Asia's worst TB epidemics. It also is one of the last remaining countries to use sanatoria as a major part of TB control. Patients in these institutions tend to be very poor and their conditions complicated by such factors as mental illness, alcohol addiction, and homelessness. Preliminary research suggests that sanatoria may be filling roles left vacant due to cutbacks in social welfare programs, possibly because of public demand.
To explore the Romanian TB epidemic and its socioeconomic foundationss as it is experienced by the patients and staff, the researcher will live at a sanatorium for a portion of this year-long project. Mr. Stillo will conduct archival research, participant observation and extensive interviews with sanatoria doctors and patients. He also will leverage existing statistical data with new analyses, complemented with new survey data collected in the field.
This research is important because it will contribute to our understanding of the risks of epidemic disease in resource-poor settings, particularly where citizens make claims on the state for specific kinds of care. It also will aid policy makers concerned with high-risk TB patients because resistant TB stains represent one of the world's greatest health concerns. In a time of increasing poverty and weakening social safety nets, the situation in Romania's sanatoria also will offer valuable insights into the realities of post-Socialism. This research will contribute to the training of a social scientist.
